Our classroom songbook has a song called "Oh What Do You Do in the Summertime?" and one verse mentions drinking lemonade! Summer done right MUST include making lemonade from scratch. :)
We used our scientific observation skills in this tasty process. First Ms. Harmony sliced open the lemons and the school friends removed the slimy seeds. After the seeds were out we put the lemon slices in ziplock bags to be squished, smashed, twisted, and more to juice those babies! We really got a kick out of beating up these poor lemons! :P
The kiddos tasted the lemon juice on their hands and realized that it was SO sour! We then heated a cup of water and dissolved one cup of sugar in the water. Each child took a turn using the wire whisk to stir the hot water. Then we added a few more cups of cold water to the juice and sugar mixture. After an hour we came back to sample it, and it was SO good! "Better than my mom makes!" one child said! ;-)
It's probably because they worked so hard to make it themselves. While enjoying lots of cups of lemonade on the playground, one child wanted to make more lemonade. I told him he needed more lemons, and he should plant the lemon seeds. He wanted a "lemonade tree" so he took on the responsibility of planting the seeds in a pot, and watering it profusely. We will see how that works out. Hah!
